Guided Buses
on the wrong road? was published in Focus
(Journal of the Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport) in July 2008.
It exposes the manifold problems & disadvantages of kerb guided busways,
& the lack of interest in them in the rest of the world. UK busways were abandoned in Birmingham
at a cost of £100,000 after three years, and Edinburgh after three years to replace by
trams. Ipswich busways had to be rebuilt after
a few years. Some authorities reduced speed limits on roads which compete with
busways. Busways were intended to enable buses to bypass congestion.
Ironically, the Cambridgeshire system is being laid through rural areas on a
closed railway where more flexible methods are a better & cheaper option.
All rail bridges had to be rebuilt, and the formation strengthened by piling
and other techniques to support the weight of a bus. There will be no access
for lorries. Where the real congestion arises – in towns – there
will be no guided system. Breaks for cross traffic will be a hazard.

The views of critics of this article were published in Focus
in August 2008. My 1500 word response was
published in Focus October 2008. Though not strictly an article, this
comprehensive rebuttal of the criticism reads like one.

With the
benefit of foresight was published in Focus
in June 2004. It reveals that the oft-repeated claims of politicians that
the problems which arose following privatisation of British Railways could only
be seen with the benefit of hindsight are a myth. There was FORESIGHT in
abundance, from the era of the Big Four (GWR, LMS, LNE, SR) and the BR era.

Bereft of
imagination? was written to respond to a claim that BR managers were bereft
of imagination, and expose myths and anecdotes to be found in criticisms of
railway professionals. Written for publication in Focus, it has not yet been published.

Mussolini,
railways & myth was published in the Journal of the Railway & Canal
Historical Society, Special 200th Edition in December 2007. It is
based on eight biographies of Mussolini, his autobiography & two books on
Fascism. None mention drivers being threatened that they would be shot for
unpunctuality, despite evidence that their trains were not all punctual as the
British media so fondly believed. Some people seem to believe that what is
needed for perfect reliability on railways is a dictator. Even fiction writers
cannot resist an irrelevant reference to the ease of achieving railway
punctuality. It seems to be a sine qua non for writers to assume that Dictators
can induce perfection in railway operation but not in industrial production.
What the UK needs is a
dictator to get UK companies
to cease transferring production to the Third World.
(see also Letters-Miscellaneous)

Conversion
of railways into roads was published in Focus
in October 2001. It reviews the history of this idea and catalogues its
impracticalities and flawed argument. It explodes the myths which created the
idea of conversion. The article produced much favourable comment, including
advice: “this deserves a wider audience”. This advice led to more
research and a book “Railway conversion – the impractical
dream”.

A letter rebutting criticism by a reviewer
of this book is included as it reveals the trivia that opposes exposure of
railway conversion myths. It was published in the Journal of the Railway &
Canal Historical Society, July 2007.

A recent article on this subject - ‘Railway conversion is a pipedream’, - was
prepared for publication in the Public Service Review, in response to an
article in that Journal by the lone advocator of railway conversion - Transwatch. The response was not
published leaving readers of the original article in blissful ignorance of the
facts. The idea of conversion was dreamed up 55 years ago. Membership of its
society totalled 75 at the peak before tapering off to zero. In that period
every Transport Minister has dismissed the concept. 10,000 miles of railway
have closed, 250 miles have been “converted” to roads after
widening by a factor of up to eight.

A study commissioned by the Department of the Environment in
1974 was rejected by them. This envisaged – inter alia – that a
closed railway needed only a few mm of asphalt more than recommended for
domestic driveways on the formation to support tens of thousands of HGVs,
double-deck buses and cars. (This contrasts with Cambridge – see above). This layer
would also be laid on the “cess” – the walkway along the
trackside, which has supported no more than a man’s weight, but is
considered by conversionists as suitable for roads! The study effectively
conceded that railway bridges would need improved clearance, and that land
would be needed for adequate width. This study is examined at length in
“Railway conversion – the impractical dream”.

Guided busways are incompatible with the objectives of
conversionists.

The major problem of converting large railway station
terminals to bus stations has been seriously misjudged. (see Terminals)

Road Trains
derailed? was published in Focus
in April 2008. The author observed and filmed off-road demonstrations of the
vehicles. It highlights the dangers, problems & disadvantages of the
concept, and that the forecast easement of congestion and improvement of road
capacity would prove to be a myth, A few weeks after publication, the Minister
refused permission for trials on public roads. (see also letters to the media on road transport)

LT&S – the mythical ‘Misery
Line’. For several decades, users of the London, Tilbury & Southend line have
claimed it to be the “Misery Line”. It is a myth and a freudian
slip. It is really the “Miserly Line”. It earned this soubriquet by
laying claim to have fares cut from the lowest in the UK to become
the lowest in the world. It enjoyed modernisation whilst the routes whose fares
had always been higher than the LT&S waited 10-20 years longer for
modernisation.

Privatisation - reveals that many claims
by politicians and the new railway companies & comparisons with BR are unwarranted.
(see also letters to the media on privatisation)

Rebuttal of a paper by Transwatch to the
Transport Select Committee on railway conversion

Modernisation of railways – the
1955 15-year Plan approved by Government. (see also letters
to the media on modernisation)

Railway Fares – it was – and is
– popularly believed that fares on nationalised railways were rising
every year, and were always above inflation, when the converse is the reality.
(see also letters to the media on fares).

Any Journal interested in any of these
subjects will be supplied with an advance copy. Publication on this site will
then be deferred. eagibbins@yahoo.co.uk

Updated 23.8.10

CV

Joined the LMS in 1946 as a junior booking and
parcels clerk. After two years National Service with the R.A.F., mainly in Germany, became Station Master, Dovecliffe (near
Barnsley) at the age of 21. Passed the
internal examination to become a management trainee (then termed “Traffic
Apprentices”).Thereafter,
held various management posts in the Goods and Operating Departments in
Yorkshire, the North East, Midlands, BRB Headquarters and the North West. Between 1978 and 1987, wasRegional Operations Officer (LM Region),
Divisional Manager (Stoke on Trent), Assistant
Divisional General Manager (Manchester
and finally Chief Officer (Quality of Service) before taking early retirement.

Having taken early
retirement from BR, set up Leisure Products to publish books designed by me for
sportsmen & women to keep records of their games & for spectators to
keep records of club performances. These books sold to Club souvenir shops
operated by CountyCricket, Football League, Rugby League, Basketball, Speedway, etc.

Simultaneously, conducted
research into aspects of transport history which had been neglected, ignored or
inadequately researched, leading to misleading impressions, myths and
inaccurate reporting. Some books on railways gave little data on the source of
statements. Consequently, I wrote a series of books embracing this research,
and published them through the same company. The anti-rail, pro-road attitude
of pre-war governments and its effect on the LMS, LNE, SR, GWR is revealed in
“Square Deal Denied”. The facts of this episode have been seriously
misreported, probably due to a failure to study government files in the
National Archives, and a lack of media interest when the files were released
after 50 years. References in books
and articles pre-1990s, when pre-war transport files were released to the
public, were made without knowledge of these files. My other books expose the
unreal claims made by politicians, media and users regarding nationalised
railways.

Have written over 100
letters to the media on transport based on researched facts to counter anecdote
and uninformed opinion posing as facts. Most were unpublished. Click letters to see examples.